Sweet Home Alabama
by LLM99
Summary: Tris' parents are killed in a car crash and her and her brother, Caleb, have to move to Alabama to live with their Aunt Tori.
1. I Don't Want To Say Goodbye

**Alright, this is a story idea that has been way overused. Tris is a city girl, but her parents die and she and Caleb go to live with their next of kin, their Aunt Tori in Alabama. Let's see what happens. I own nothing.**

TRIS' POV

"Ma'am, we need to ask you and your family to leave. We don't want you to watch..." The funeral director says sadly.

"I understand, thank you so much." I shake his hand and take Caleb's arm. We walk towards his car and don't look back. I don't think I can or I may fall apart again. When we heard about the crash I didn't believe it, how could I? My parents were dead, dead and there was nothing I could do about it. My black heels click along the concrete. Caleb wipes his face off again.

"Are you almost done packing?" He asks. We have to move in with Aunt Tori on her chicken farm in Alabama. She's been living with us since the crash until now. We are flying to Atlanta, GA in two days and then driving to her farm near Dothan, Al. From Chicago to Dothan. Big difference there. I don't want to. I don't want to leave everything I know for something I don't.

"Yes. I am done." I pat my eyes with a tissue. Aunt Tori is waiting by the car for us. She lost her sister, Caleb and I lost our parents. She hugs us and we all get in.

"Are you two okay?" She sits in the driver's seat.

"No." It's all I can say.

"It will get better, I promise." She smiles sadly at me. "Think about something happy. They wouldn't want you to mope forever." She's right, but I don't say it.

* * *

Goodbye Chicago, hello my doom. The drive from Atlanta takes a few hours and I honestly slept for most of it. Caleb was alert, looking for things to learn. So, so, I can't think of a good word. I wake up when we're in Enterprise, stopping for gas. "Only an hour longer."

I groan and bury my face in my hands. I get out of the car to go to the bathroom and get something to eat. I grab a Hershey's bar and a coke and go to pay.

"Three dollars and fifty-six cents." The man says with a thick, Southern accent. I quickly pay and go to the car. Does everyone talk like that? Please no or I won't understand anything. Aunt Tori is waiting for me so I quickly hop in and eat a piece of chocolate.

"Y'all are going to have fun here. There are lots of nice people and good food and entertainment." She tries to assure us.

"Isn't there a math school somewhere down here?" Caleb asks.

"Yes, there is, in Mobile. You may be able to apply I think you can start there your junior year." She smiles. Caleb and I are entering our sophomore year. Well it's the beginning of summer here, but we will be joining the first day of school as sophomores. I doze off for the next hour and when I wake up we are surrounded by fields of well nothing right now. "That's the Eatons' farm. They normally farm cotton and peanuts. They're the biggest providers in the Wiregrass area. They actually have a son just a few years older than you. Tobias. He's a good kid."

"That's good. I think I remember him. Last time we came to visit his family came over or something." I say.

"I think so." She nods her head. "That was several years ago, he has grown to a fine young man." She smiles at me. My cheeks heat up just like Aunt Tori. To play match maker. We drive up a hill and I see a large farmhouse and barn. "That's where they live. They're good neighbors. Tobias helps us out when he can." So I am going to be seeing him a lot. "Almost there."

"Alright." Caleb says, looking up from his book. How does he not get sick when he reads in the car?

"There are a couple other, smaller farms around here." Aunt Tori names all the families and I look around. I see a boy, well not really a boy, more like a young man playing with a dog, retriever of some sort. Aunt Tori must notice him, too, because she stops the car and rolls down her window. "How are you doing Tobias or should I be calling you Four?"

"Well most call me Four, I don't really care and I'm doing alright. How are you?" His voice is deep, it kind of rumbles, the accent sounds nice.

"I'm alright. How are you, Dixie?" The dog barks. Tori gets out of the car and motions for us to follow. I get out and stand there awkwardly. Aunt Tori scratches the dog's head.

"What kind of dog is she?" Caleb asks as Dixie bounds towards him.

"Half golden, half black lab." Tobias replies. "She's harmless."

"How old is she?" I ask.

"Three." He answers and looks me up and down. "You must be Beatrice and Caleb. Haven't seen you in a while." He wipes his hands on his jeans and sticks it out for Caleb to shake. "Tobias Eaton, most people call me Four."

"Caleb Prior." Caleb is uneasy as he shakes Tobias' hand.

"Nice to meet you, well see you again. When was the last time y'all were down here?" He walks over to me.

"Four years ago I believe. I was twelve, so yeah." I shake his hand. "Beatrice Prior, most people call me Tris."

"Nice to meet you." He smiles. His smile is white and straight.

"Nice to meet you, too." I smile back, then Dixie decides it's a good time to say hello to me. She runs over to me and jumps on me. I am knocked back and fall on the red clay. Why did I wear a white shirt? Dixie starts licking my face.

"Dixie, get off her." Four pulls her off me and offers me a hand up. I take it. When I'm standing again I look at my shirt. The clay stained parts of it red. "Well she likes you. Sorry about your shirt, I can get you a new one if you'd like?"

"No, no it's fine. Thank you." I smile at my feet.

"Y'all should come with me to my friend Zeke's barn party tomorrow night. It'll be great." He crouches down and rubs Dixie's head, that is one happy dog.

"We'd love to." Caleb answers.

"Have either of you been to a barn party?" Four asks.

"No." I shake my head, so does Caleb.

"Y'all really are Yankees, aren't ya?" He asks.

"Well at least we won the war." Caleb smiles.

"My family fought for the Confederacy, they owned slaves, too. That doesn't make me any less a person than you." Four stands and wipes his hands on his jeans again. "Besides, the South has more to offer."

"Like?" Caleb urges him on.

"Well cotton, peanuts, Nascar, college football, home of army aviation, true Americans." Four rocks back on his heels.

"Rednecks, you mean rednecks?" Caleb laughs.

"Got a problem with rednecks?" Well he turned scary fast.

"We have to be going." Aunt Tori stops all this.

"Alright, I'll see y'all around." He shakes Caleb's hand and then mine, slipping a piece of paper into my palm. I look at it. "So I can text you more about the party, text me your name." He turns and starts running up the hill, Dixie chasing after him. He turns back waves and then I get into the car.

"Well he's interesting." Caleb mumbles.

"He's nice enough." I shrug.

"His dog sure is." Caleb laughs and looks at my shirt. "Do you think we can get it out?"

"Oh yeah, down here you learn to get red clay out of anything." Aunt Tori looks at us in the rear view mirror. "About another mile drive and we'll be at the house."

"How's Uncle Bud?" I ask.

"Oh, he's good." she nods. "Excited about seeing y'all."

Then I see it, the house is large like I remember, and is surrounded by a large yard, a large live oak tree on the right side. The chicken houses are a little further down the road. The house itself is white, it's an old house, but a sturdy one. The porch goes all the way around and there is one just on the back of the second story. It's pretty, you don't see anything like that in Chicago. When we drive up the long driveway I see Uncle Bud's truck isn't there. He must be checking on the chickens. "Your bedrooms are on the second floor, I really don't care what you do with them, just don't destroy my house."

"Thank you, Aunt Tori." I say and grab my suitcases. I drag them up the stairs and have to go make a second, trip moving into a new house isn't fun. Once everything is in my room I take a good look around. It's the room I stayed in when we came to visit. lace curtains, a quilt (though I doubt it gets too cold here, even in the winter), a dresser, wardrobe (no closet), chester drawers, double bed. I crack the window open and let some air circulate. Outside my window is a great, old live oak with a tire swing. The air smells clean and wet. The air feels wet. Stupid humidity.

I unpack all of my pictures and set them on the chester drawers. One is of my mother and father on their wedding day. Another is of when Caleb was born. Another of when I was born. Some are of birthdays, dance recitals, family portraits. It's insane. I look at the wedding picture again. My parents smile at each other instead of the camera. A few tears leak from my eyes. 'They're in a better place.' That is what everyone told me, they're not here, they are with God, they are happy. But why do they have to be gone? I just got out of my freshman year of high school. My parents should be seeing my graduation, my first day of college, my wedding, the birth of my first child, but they're not. They're six feet under the ground and there is nothing I can do to change that.

I set down the picture and start unpacking. Shirt, pants, short, dress, shorts, shirt, shirt, shirt, shoes, pants, dress. Wow this is boring. I hear a knock on my door. "Come in!"

"Dinner is going to be ready soon, we're having spaghetti." Aunt Tori smiles at me. "How do you like your room?"

"It's great, I always loved it when I was a kid." I look at the light pink walls.

"What are you going to change?" She steps inside and starts looking at my pictures.

"I'm just going to decorate a little, might get a new bedspread." I shrug.

"Alright, well I am going to finish dinner. I holler when it's ready." She closes the door behind her.

**Alright, tell me whether or not to continue! I have so many stories open right now.**


	2. Time to Party

**Well everyone saying Edgar being a new love interest is, pardon this please, BS. I sure do hope so. The lack of love triangle is a reason I love Divergent so much. I own nothing. When I say coke in this I mean the soda. **

TOBIAS' POV

"Did you hear that Tori and Bud's niece and nephew are living with them now?" Zeke asks, tossing me a coke.

"Yeah, I actually met 'em this afternoon, Caleb kinda seemed like a know it all, called us all rednecks, he truly belongs among the yanks." I open the coke.

"What about the girl? Beatrice, right?" He plops down next to me on the couch.

"Tris, I don't know. She seemed better than her brother. Dixie got excited and knocked her down though." I shrug.

"How did she react?" He asks.

"She was okay about it. I offered to get her a new shirt, but she refused." I take a sip of my coke.

"Is she pretty?"

"What about Shauna? I thought you were in love with her." I laugh.

"Shut up. I still like Shauna, but I wanna know about the new girl." He hits the back of my head.

"She's short, blonde hair, blue eyes, long nose, narrow face." I shrug.

"Pretty?" he asks.

"Pretty is too small a word." I say.

"You like her?"

"I just met her. They're coming to your party tomorrow. I invited them so-"

"You could make out with her I understand."

"No, so they could meet everybody. Their parents were killed in a car accident, they moved in with their aunt because she was next of kin." I say coldly.

"Oh man. I didn't know that." Zeke says sadly.

"Yeah, Andrew and Natalie were good people. I met them a few times." I chew my cheek, a nervous habit. My phone buzzes. A text. A text from Tris.

**(Italics is Four, underline is Tris)**

It's Tris.

_Alright._

So, what do I need to know about tomorrow night? What do I need to wear?

_Something comfortable._

Well that doesn't narrow it down at all.

_Sorry. I'll give you my friend, Christina's number so you can text her._

Alright.

_334-447-0236 _**(Don't call that I'm pretty sure that is the army police)**

Thanks! Where do I need to go?

_I'll pick you and Caleb up in my pickup._

Alright, what time?

_6:30_

Alright, I'll see you then! :-)

_Bye._

Bye.

"Who you texting?"

"Ah!" I yell. "Zeke don't do that." He came right behind me and yelled in my ear.

"Tell me!" He yells.

"I was texting Tris about the party."

"Ooooooh."

"Nothing like that. Just telling her what time and everything." I grumble.

"Did you tell her to wear something hot?"

"No, I said comfortable."

"Come on, Four. You seem mildly interested in this girl." He sits down next to me again.

"I've been interested in girls before." I scowl.

* * *

**Skip to the party, well when Tobias goes to pick them up.**

TRIS' POV

I check my hair for the millionth time as we wait for Four in his pickup. Caleb is reading some book on Alabama birds when I hear a horn. "That must be Four." I check my makeup one more time and run out the door, Caleb close behind me. Aunt Tori follows. "When are y'all going to be home?"

"Elevenish probably." Four says hopping out of his truck. He's wearing a plaid button down and blue jeans.

"Alright, there's a key under the door mat." She turns and leaves.

"Unless you want us all to be cramped in the front seat, well more likely Tris since she's he smallest we would put her in the middle, someone is going to have to ride in the back." Four loops his thumbs through his belt loops.

"Like the back back?" Caleb asks, wide eyed. "Is that safe?"

"Yeah, as long as you hold on tight enough. The roads are a little bumpy, but you'll be fine." Four smiles.

"Who said I was the one sitting back there?" Caleb asks.

"Well I'm the only one who knows how to get to Zeke's and I'm not about to let a lady sit in the bed of my truck if I can avoid it." He rocks back on his heels, he does that a lot.

"A lady?" I raise my eyebrows.

"What did you want me to call you and the others of your gender?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Let's just go." Caleb says and hops in the bed of the pickup truck.

"You'll be, fine, just don't fall off." Four smirks and opens the door for me.

"Thank you." I say, sliding in.

"Welcome." Four smiles. He shuts the door and gets in the driver's side. He opens this little window to the bed so we can talk to Caleb. The truck starts and Caleb holds on tight to the side. He's scared straight. "I'll warn you now, my friends are...interesting. They are crazy, interesting, but they're great I guess. They are happy. Don't let them scare you."

"I promise I won't." I shake my head and smile. "Christina seemed nice."

"Well, she's very blunt. She doesn't care what you think about her, but she is the girliest person I know." He takes his eyes off the road for a moment and looks at me. His eyes are blue, not blue like my eyes that are almost grey, they're so blue they're almost black. It's like a night sky before it turns totally black. In his left iris is a dart of lighter blue. Then the eyes leave mine. "I think you'll like them."

"What is everyone else like?" Caleb asks, then we hit a bump and he acts like he fell off the truck. "Slow down!"

"I'm going 20 miles an hour, that's a mile every three minutes. How slow do you want us to go? I normally drive these roads at at least thirty, depending on the weather." Four rolls his eyes. I stifle a laugh because Caleb wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

"Well go 15!" Caleb explains.

"Then we'll be late." Four says and actually hits the accelerator.

"You're going to kill me!" Caleb yells.

"No I'm not, unless you're an idiot." Four keeps driving at a steady 25 miles and we eventually get to the barn, Caleb complaining the whole way there. He didn't fall off, so Four wasn't too agitated with him.

"Four!" A stocky, dark skinned guy calls. He doesn't look much older than me. He looks to be Four's age.

"Hey Zeke." Four smiles.

"So these are Tori's niece and nephew?" Zeke nods towards us.

"I'm Tris Prior." I stick my hand out and he shakes it twice.

"Zeke Pedrad." His smile is also white. It startles me, I expected everyone down here to be missing teeth and live in trailers I guess.

"Caleb Prior." Caleb says, he is not so happy.

"He had to ride in the bed." Four informs his friend.

"He looks like you drove a hundred miles an hour." Zeke laughs. "Well follow me, you two need to meet everyone." He slings an arm over my shoulders and the other over Caleb's. Four stands behind us as Zeke pushes us to the barn. I hear music and smell barbecue. Through the cracks between the pieces of wood I see bright lights. People are yelling over the music. "We'll be eating shortly."

"What are we eating?" Caleb yells.

"My baby brother might not be good at much, but he sure as Hell can cook some good ribs." Zeke laughs and pushes one of the doors open. Everyone stops and stares at us. Four presses his hand to my upper back an pushes me inside. I didn't realize I froze. "This is Caleb and Tris!"

"Thank you for that beautiful introduction." I roll my eyes.

"They live with Tori and Bud now, so they're going to be here a while." My cheeks heat up. Everyone promptly turns back to what they were doing before. "I'll introduce y'all to the important people." He lets his arms drop and starts walking, we follow. "Obviously you already know Four. This is Shauna." He taps on a girl in a wheelchair's shoulder.

"Hey!" She smiles. "You must be wondering about the chair." Not really, now I see a large cast on her leg. "I broke my femur playing softball and couldn't get the crutches too cooperate, so now I have this too wheel around everywhere. I'm Shauna." I shake her hand.

"Tris." I say tightly.

"I assumed. Zeke isn't exactly a quiet person." We both laugh.

"How much longer are you going to have the cast?" I ask.

"Another week." She shrugs. "You must be Caleb." She turns towards my brother.

"How many people has Zeke deemed 'important'?" I ask Four.

"Well there is Christina, her boyfriend, Will, Uriah, Zeke's brother, Uriah's girlfriend, Marlene, um, Lynn, Fernando, Cara, Will's sister, there are plenty, trust me." He says, not looking at me.

"Great." I sigh.

"It's not that bad." He smiles.

**Yay! I'm continuing. I am pissed though that Edgar was added to create a love triangle.**


	3. Ribs

**I am soooooooooooooooooo sorry for not updating! I have been at camp! I own nothing.**

TRIS' POV

"You somewhat already know Christina." Four has taken over the job of introducing me to people. Caleb has launched into conversation with this guy named Fernando.

"Hi!" Christina says and hugs me.

"Hi." I pat her back awkwardly.

"Four!" Uriah-I think- calls.

"I'm going to help them with the food. Christina is the last person you have to meet." Four smiles and leaves.

"So, what do you like to do?" She takes my arm and we begin walking over to the giant table off to the side where we are going to eat.

"I like playing paintball." I shrug. "What about you?"

"I like taking pictures, I want to be a photographer you see." She smiles brightly.

"That's cool." I smile back.

"Do you think you could be one of my models? I am applying for an internship and they want samples of my work." Well that was sudden.

"Who else are your models?" I bite my lip.

"Well, there is Will, Marlene, Uriah, Lynn, and Four." She counts on her fingers.

"Sure." I smile and sit next to her. "Four agreed?"

"Well after a lot of begging and a chocolate pound cake he agreed." She sighs. "I love pound cake." I nod my head. "My mom makes the best pound cake. She is a really good cook in general, even our dong, Chunker, agrees." She laughs and launches into a story about the time Chunker ate a whole roast chicken. Then they put the food out. All conversation ceases and Christina puts one ribs, a scoop of gritty soup looking stuff, a piece of toast, and some broccoli.

I reach for my fork and Christina slaps my arm away and points down the table to the head. Zeke is sitting there, Four on his left and Shauna in her wheelchair on his right. "Please bow your heads." Christina takes Will and my's hands, Marlene grabs my left hand and we bow our heads. I'm not Christian, but it's only polite. "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food, by his hands, we are all fed, thank you Lord for our daily bread." Everyone recites. "Amen."

"You're atheist, aren't you?" She asks me.

"Yes, since my parents died I have refused to believe in someone who could have saved them, because they should've." I say.

"Were you once Christian?" She stabs a piece of broccoli with her fork.

"Yes, well I guess." I shrug and look at the gritty soup stuff.

"Have you never had grits?" She asks, looking at me, wide-eyed.

"No." I shake my head.

"They're good. Eat them." She nudges me. Everyone is talking, loudly I might add. Caleb is talking to a guy named Fernando about crop rotation or something. Christina is cutting her ribs so they are easier to eat. Four is glaring at his meal, wow, mood-swing. I take a bite of the "grits" (I guess southerners are bad with coming up with names) and they are delicious. I've had better food, but they aren't bad. I take another bite as Christina starts making plans for the photo shoot thing. "Alright. I think I am going to pair you up with Four because he seems the least hostile to you."

"What?" I ask.

"I need some couple pictures, Will is my boyfriend and since I will be taking the pictures, I can't do them with him. We can't have too many of Uriah and Marlene. Lynn absolutely hates Four, so you are the best choice." She explains.

"Why does she hate him?" I ask and mimic her, cutting the ribs into strips so they will be easier to eat.

"Well, not so much as hates, but she could never like him in that way. Unless there is something you have not told me there is a possibility you can." She points her fork at me. I raise my eyebrows at her. "She's you know, not straight."

"Who?" I ask. "I know Lynn, but who does she like have a crush on?"

"I'm trusting you here." She looks at Marlene on my other side, leans into me, and puts her lips next to my ear. "Marlene."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes." She nods.

"Wow." I say and pick up a rib. How on Earth am I going to eat these and still look decent afterwards. I inspect for the place with the least sauce and try to take a bite. It tastes amazing, but I already feel like a mess.

"Mar and Uri don't know so, don't say a word." She whispers in my ear.

"What are you girls talking about?" Marlene asks.

"Boys." Christina says quickly.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Marlene laughs.

"Because it's me!" Christina smiles widely.

"Have you met any guys you're interested in, Tris?" Marlene nudges me with her elbow.

"No, but I haven't met many people down here, so it isn't surprising." I shrug and eat some broccoli.

"Come on! There has to be at least one guy you think is cute!" Christina exclaims.

"Nope." I say, popping the 'p'.

"Yep." Marlene says, mimicking me.

"Look who's staring." Christina elbows me and nods down the table. Four. Four is watching us. I hate the world.

"No." I shake my head and feel my cheeks heat up.

"Yes." Christina squeals. Now everyone is staring. "Nothing to see here, carry on."

They all laugh and continue whatever they were talking about. Four is still watching us. Creepy.

**A filler chapter with some important info. Tell me what you want to see happen!**


	4. Rednecks

**I am sorry for not updating. I own nothing.**

TOBIAS' POV

"You need to ask Tris to dance." Zeke points at me.

"Why?" I ask. I look at Christina attempting to teach her how to line dance.

"Because she's cute, she barely knows you, and she at least finds you decent." Thank you Zeke.

"Those are terrible reasons." I inform him.

"Alright, how about if you don't I will ruin your life." He threatens. He's got dirt on me sadly.

"Fine." I give in.

"Perfect. I'm going to put on a good song. What do you want? Country or not?" He starts walking away.

"Country." I answer.

"Alright." He runs over to his iPod and starts searching his songs. The current song ends and Zeke starts the slow song 'When You Say Nothing At All'. Then he winks at me and gives me a big thumbs up. Why does he have this song on his iPod?

Tris walks away from Christina because she's dancing with Will. Of course. Those two are awful fond of PDA. She stands awkwardly next to Lynn. Everyone else really is dancing. They both look at me, then each other, then back at me. What could they be thinking 'Why on Earth is Four walking over here?' Lynn quickly retreats. "Tris."

"Yeah?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Do you... want to dance?" I stutter.

"Um..." She chews her bottom lip and it becomes awkward. Well it already was, more awkward.

"You don't have to. I mean I would like to." I stutter even more. "I'm sorry."

She Laughs. _She laughs._ "No, Four, I would love to."

I take her arm and lead her to the middle with everyone else. Her hands rest on my shoulders and mine on her slim waist. Neither of us are particularly good with words and this is almost to awkward again. Everyone else is all lovey-dovey an then there's us. The only not-couple. Why did I agree to this again? _Because you wanted to dance with her._ _Oh and Zeke blackmailed you._ This is not what I had in mind. "Christina told me you are helping her with the pictures."

"Yeah, I am. Did she rope you in, too?" I ask.

"Yeah, she decided it would be a good idea to pair us up." She smiles sweetly.

"Like for couple pictures?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Yeah." She says slowly.

"That will be interesting." I nod and the song finishes. A faster song comes on and people start dancing again. Tris and I stand there awkwardly, neither of us wanting to be rude and walk away. "Do you want something to drink or..."

"Sure." We walk over to the coolers and each grab a coke.

"So." I say.

"So." I draw it out.

"So tell me about yourself." She smiles.

"Not much to know." I shrug.

"Well there has to be something." She raises her blonde eyebrows.

"Well, my mom died when I was little. I was nine. It's just me and my dad." I shrug. I leave out that my dad is a psychopath. "What about you?"

"You know about the crash. Caleb is my brother. Not much to say about me either." She sips her coke.

"What do you like to do for fun?" I ask.

"Paintball is pretty fun. You?" She shrugs.

"Well, I play football, I kinda play guitar, mostly I work on the farm." I shrug.

"I guess I'm going to learn about working on a farm." She sighs.

"It isn't that bad." I laugh.

"You grew up on one! I grew up in an apartment in Chicago, Illinois!" She exclaims.

"Still." I shrug.

"What is there here anyways?" She sighs and leans against the wall.

"There's plenty. I am going to prove to you that you can have fun in Alabama." Great, now my pride is going to get in the way of all this.

"Oh are you?" Sassy Tris.

"Yeah, I am. What are you doing tomorrow?" What am I doing?

"I can't think of anything other than learning to work on a farm." She smirks. "What did you have in mind?"

"You, me, and whoever else wants to go going to Bama Jam farms, going to the water park thing." Dude, you can't do that. Shirt, lack of shirt. Scars. Dude, what the Hell are you doing?

"What the Heck is Bama Jam farms?" Now you've confused her.

"Well, a while ago there was this outdoor, country concert. It had all kinds of acts, Taylor Swift, though not Country, came a few years. Then Ronnie Gilley was an idiot. You see, it's illegal to gamble in Alabama. He bribed politicians and opened casinos. Then he got arrested and is currently in jail. None of the politicians are in jail though. I mean they accepted the bribes and turned a blind eye." I explain. "Now, that land has a water park, a mudding hole, and a whole bunch of other things."

"A mudding hole?" She kinda looks disgusted.

"Yeah. You get in the bed of a truck or something similar and ride around until you get covered in mud." I must sound like an idiot.

"And you people find this fun?" She asks, slowly.

"Yes." I say, equally slowly.

"I do not understand the South. You guys are Racist, Christian, Rednecks." Alright, she's taken this too far.

"Excuse me. I am not Racist, if you have not noticed, my best friend is African American. Yeah, I'm Christian. That doesn't mean I hate Gays or Lesbians or Bisexuals or Muslims or anyone! True Christians don't hate people!" At this point I'm yelling. Everyone is staring at us. I grab her arm and drag her out of the barn. She struggles against my grip, but I'm much stronger than her.

"I am not going to sit here and be yelled at!" She yells.

"I am not going to take your stereotypes lying down." I spit. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. "You know where the term 'Redneck' comes from? It came from white farmers getting sunburned on their necks because we work outside. People have turned it into uneducated Southerners who live in trailer parks. You better watch your back, walking around saying everyone here is idiotic."

"You know what, Four? I thought you were a decent guy, but now I don't know." She's seething.

"You know what, Tris? I thought you were a decent girl, but then you called me Racist and insulted my Religion." I lock my jaw and lean close, so it's easier to make eye contact.

"Thank you, Four. For proving you're just an ego-maniac. Thank you for proving your pride-" Her face is five inches from mine.

"My pride? What about yours? You hate the South, I could tell that the minute I met you. You don't want to see the great parts of it, so you simply choose to insult it and everyone living in it. You better get used to it, because this is where you're gonna be for a while." I grind my teeth.

"I didn't choose to live here." She yells.

"I know that and you know what? I'm sorry your parents were killed. My mom died when I was young from pregnancy complications. I know what it feels like and don't you dare say I don't." I bet everyone is at the door listening.

"I'm sorry, but your wounds-" I snort.

"My wounds? You know nothing about my wounds or my demons." I turn and walk back away from the barn. I gotta cool off. If I don't I might kill someone.

Deep breath.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

I don't feel better and a hand lies on my shoulder. I snap around to see Zeke. "What?" I spit at him.

"What was all that about?" He yells, motioning back to the barn.

"She used Christian as an insult. She called us all Racist Rednecks. I got mad." I shrug.

"You get mad too easily." He shakes his head. "Wait a minute. You got mad she insulted because you like her."

"I met her yesterday. Now I don't even want to be friends with her. Damn I have to drive her home." I drag my hand down my face.

"Put her in the bed. Caleb I'm sure will be glad to ride in the seat." He laughs.

"I already said I wasn't going to let a girl ride in the bed of my truck if I could help it." I hate myself right now.

"Why did you say that?" He exclaims.

"To get Caleb in the bed." I sigh.

"You alright?" He asks.

"I just need to cool down." I shake my head. "I wish it was hunting season."

"Why?" He laughs. "So you could go shoot something?" I nod. "I heard you talking to her about going to Bama Jam."

"Yeah. I guess that's off." I stare at the fields. A full moon shines above us, with no clouds anywhere to be seen.

"One of you is going to have to apologize if you're going to help Christina." Damn it, he's right.

* * *

TRIS' POV

"You have to apologize." Christina crosses her arms.

"He was the one yelling at me." I remind her. God, she must hate me for what I called Southern people.

"You were the one to insult his morals and religion." She says, disgusted.

"I know. I just..." I don't want to admit he's right, but he is. I am determined to hate the South.

"You were just wrong. Tris it's going to be a long, lonely life if you're determined to hate everyone and everything in the South." Now she's mad at me.

"I know." But I cannot apologize. My pride won't allow me.

"You are going to apologize and everything is going to be better." She leads me outside the barn. I see two figures. One is obviously Four, the other, Zeke. "Zeke, we need to leave these two alone, they have some making up to do."

"Alright." Zeke follows her back to he barn. They look like siblings. He says something that makes her laugh and look back at us.

"Tris." He says stiffly.

"Four." I reply with the same tone.

"It seems we have a problem." I'd say. I gotta do couple pictures with you and you hate me.

"So it does." He starts pacing. Its dark, but light enough from the moon I can see his strong build.

'We are either going to pretend tonight never happened or never speak again. Correct?"

"Yes." I nod.

"We have all the same friends, well I guess we can call them your friends. It will be hard to avoid each other." Please stop pacing.

"Yes it will." I nod again. He turns to me and we make eye contact. His eyes, when I first met him were bright, but still this sleeping, waiting blue Now they are filled with hate, sadness, and anger. It is a strange combination.

"What do you want to do?" Is he seriously asking this?

"I think we would benefit more from pretending tonight never happened. Agreed?" I stick my hand out.

"Agreed." He shakes it twice. "Never insult us like that again."

"I promise." I roll my eyes.

"You better."

**Pretty long chapter. Almost two thousand words. I am so excited! I leave for school in a few weeks!**


End file.
